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kennethp60510841
kennethp60510841
Participant
June 28, 2025
Question

Acrobat Reduce File Size Dialog

  • June 28, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 376 views

In Acrobat's Reduce File Size dialog (File / Save as Other / Recuced Size PDF), the Make Compatible With drop-down always used to default to the latest version - Acrobat 10.0 and Later. Now, it defaults to Retain Existing, which often results in a larger file. How do I get back to the having Acrobat 10 as the default?

      2 replies

      T
      Tariq Dar
      Legend
      June 30, 2025

      Hi @kennethp60510841,

       

       

      Thank you for sharing your experience with the “Reduce File Size” option in Acrobat.

       

      With recent updates to the Acrobat interface, the Reduce File Size feature has been streamlined to initiate compression automatically, without presenting the manual settings dialog that was previously available. This change is part of an effort to simplify commonly used tasks.

       

      We understand that some users may prefer having access to compression settings or compatibility options as in the previous experience. We’ve shared this feedback with our product team, and they are evaluating how to balance ease of use with the flexibility that many users rely on.

       

      In the meantime, if you need more control over compression, we recommend using:

       

      • File > Save as Other > Optimized PDF, which provides detailed options for image compression, fonts, transparency, and more.

      • Or, for simpler workflows, consider creating a custom Action under Tools > Action Wizard that includes “Optimize PDF” with your preferred settings.

       

      Thanks again for your feedback — it’s valuable and helps guide future improvements.

       


      ~Tariq

      kennethp60510841
      kennethp60510841Author
      Participant
      August 4, 2025

      Thank you for your reply. I am sorry to say, however, that it is nonsense. I realize that you are just conveying Adobe's official position, but saying that an option is being removed to streamline the user interface makes no sense, and compression definitely does NOT happen automatically. The PDFs on which I use Reduce File Size shink to about 10% of their original size. How exactly would that be happening automatically?

       

      File > Save as Other > Optimized PDF is fairly useless for me since I need to reduce size on all open PDFs at once, typically between 5 and 20 of them. Having to do that one-by-one - I see no option to do all open PDFs at once - is so inefficient as to be an unfunny joke. Again, I realize you are just conveying Adobe's corporate position and not suggesting that it is actually a good idea.

      kglad
      Community Expert
      kgladCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 28, 2025

      in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

      p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.



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